Jersey City Shooting Suspect Linked to Black Hebrew Israelite Group

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December 11, 2019 10:09 PM

An assailant involved in the prolonged firefight in Jersey City, New Jersey, that left six people dead, including one police officer, was linked Wednesday to the Black Hebrew Israelite movement, which has been designated a hate group, and had published anti-Semitic posts online, a law enforcement official said.

Jersey City Shooting Suspect Linked to Black Hebrew Israelite Group

The violent rampage Tuesday took place largely at a kosher supermarket where three bystanders were killed. Authorities now believe that the store was specifically targeted by the assailants, whom they identified as David N. Anderson, 47, and Francine Graham, 50.

Anderson appeared to have a connection to the Black Hebrew Israelite movement, though the extent of his involvement in that group remains unclear, the law enforcement official said.

The Black Hebrew Israelites have no connection with mainstream Judaism. It has been described as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a legal advocacy group that tracks such movements.

Authorities also suspected that the two assailants may have been involved in a separate killing in neighboring Bayonne, New Jersey, according to New Jersey’s attorney general, Gurbir S. Grewal.

Among those killed Tuesday were three bystanders who were inside the store when the shootout began. They have been identified as Mindel Ferencz, 33, who ran the market with her husband; Moshe Deutch, 24, a rabbinical student who lives in Brooklyn; and Miguel Douglas, 49, who was believed to have worked at the store.

One other person inside the store was wounded but managed to escape, according to Grewal.

The Jersey City police officer who was killed was identified Tuesday as Detective Joe Seals, a 15-year law enforcement veteran and a father of five.

Investigators also found a manifesto-style note inside the assailants’ van, the law enforcement official and another official familiar with the case said. The document, which was described as brief and “rambling,” suggested no clear motive for the shooting.

Investigators also found a live pipe bomb inside the vehicle that was an operable explosive device, officials said Wednesday.

It was unclear whether Graham also had ties to the Black Hebrew Israelites.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times .

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